Dr. Heidi Forbes Öste interviews her niece, Alden Forbes, about her gap year working and traveling in Asia and South America as a solo young woman.

Alden Forbes, is a first-year Contemplative Studies and Music Performance student at Brown University. With a sense of curiosity instilled in her from a young age by her globe-trotting parents, she took a year before college to travel. Self-funded and self-designed, her nomadic nine months consisted of homestays, hostels, work-aways, hitch-hiking, and even weeks in a Buddhist monastery. She learned (and is still learning) how to travel as a global citizen, while gaining a broader perspective of the world and its many secrets.

Today, even under COVID quarantine, She’s taking full advantage of the opportunities and communities that Brown offers. One of the most important objects she carried across Asia and South America was her ukulele. Music became a unifying force, crossing language and cultural barriers and connecting her with people and places. Now, She’s taking the time to reconnect with her guitar— although it might be harder to carry it in her backpack for her next adventure.

If you’re interested in checking out some of the resources she used while traveling, here is a list of websites and organizations:

Workaway: https://www.workaway.info
Where There be Dragons: https://www.wheretherebedragons.com
“CouchSurf” App
Instagram: @fallingwalrus.jpg ; @thejabberwocks
Spotify: The Jabberwocks of Brown University

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